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Ohhhhhhh man, what a year I’ve had. It’s been a while since I wrote anything substantial here, so LET’S CATCH UP.

RADIO

Starting in May of 2012, I began working at KZSC Santa Cruz, 88.1FM. What do I do? I write the PSAs. Oh, what’s a PSA? Hold on to your seat; Public Service Announcements. Yeahhhh, I tell you what to do when there’s a flood or you see a mountain lion, I write the diddy about the local farmer’s market, or where to volunteer with the homeless. Does this sound boring? Only sometimes, and only when dealing with people who write perfect drafts of their public service announcement, but for some reason write the whole piece in caps lock. The DJs will not shout your PSA, I am sorry.

OH! I also DJed a show or two. From June to about September of 2012, I hosted my first radio show. It was a hip-hop/electronic program called “B-B-Beats”. We played stuff like Gorillaz and BBNG and I learned a lot about what not to do on air. One memorable caller phoned in after an unedited hip-hop song just to say, “freedom of speech sure is great, huh”. Sure is, although nothing beats the guy who requested I ask people to call in and tell him to put WD-40 between his toes. I’m still a bit befuddled on that one.

Since September, I’ve been DJing an indie rock show that showcases newer artists and more recent bands. Katie’s Tree House has been wonderful. It got me back into indie music and I think I’ll probably be sticking with it for my final quarter as a DJ and student at UC Santa Cruz.

WRITING

Around the same time that I started working as the PSA Director at KZSC Santa Cruz, I started writing for Uloop News. College news written by and for college kids, it was a good experience but I believe my time with Uloop has come to an end. My contributions can be found here. I also got to be a contributor for the Huffington Post and USA Today through Uloop News, which is pretty sweet. However, I missed the freedom and personality of this blog so I’m back! Sunday updates will happen, even if it’s a picture of me apologizing for not writing anything. While we’re on the topic of writing, last quarter I wrote my senior paper for American Studies. I discussed gender roles in reality television with a focus on masculinity and perceptions of men as a whole in the domestic realm (non-existent or incompetent). During my research, I found an interesting exception to the dated gender roles of reality television in food-based reality programs, which is interesting considering how food preparation has been heavily gendered. Men grill and cook on special occasions and ultimately cooking is executed by men as a hobby and craft. In comparison, women cook daily and perform a labor. Men can cook in a domestic setting and not be pegged as ‘feminine’, just as women can be in a professional competitive environment without sacrificing a part of their feminine image. If you want to read it or discuss the topic further, let me know.

LIFE

I work a part-time job at a pizzaria. We get new beers each month, so I’ve been able to try a lot of new beers this year. My favorites have been the Ruthless Rye IPA by Sierra Nevada, Ninkasi IPA, and the Amber Ale by the Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing Company. The new beer we have on tap is a lager by Anchor Steam and it is a foooooamy mess. Tastes sweet, but it is a pain in the butt to pour.

Oh, I’m moving to San Francisco in June. I’m going to be working as an intern and hopefully they like me and I like them and we can go steady (income). Tomorrow I’m going to round up all the abandoned Easter candies and melt them down into a new, super candy. I’m also going to be reviewing the Santa Cruz Secret Film Festival again. If you’re looking to follow something I contribute to more than once a week, check me out on tumblr at conkerrtheworld.tumblr.com . I’m back, kiddos! Stay tuned.